For nearly a decade, Dinah Lance has been a rock star when she wasn’t fighting crime as Black Canary. However, there has been little consensus between writers as to just how successful she is. Some writers portray Dinah as a niche performer who is barely able to fill up punk bars in Gotham City. Other writers portray her as an arena-filling superstar, comparable to Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift. Birds of Prey #14, the first book of the series set in the DC All-In timeline, offers a definitive answer.
Written by Kelly Thompson, with art by Sami Basri, Birds of Prey #14 centers on an undercover mission of mercy. To make amends for their recent actions against the Amazons, the Birds help investigate a sinister corporation called the Ninth Day. The Amazon queen Nubia believes the company has kidnapped several people, including a number of Amazons.
To that end, Cassandra Cain goes undercover as an assassin for hire interested in working for the Ninth Day. It is a role that the Batgirl plays well, despite not being well-versed in talking her way out of trouble or talking in general. However, this raises the question of why Cassandra was sent to spy on the Ninth Day rather than Black Canary, who has more experience in undercover work.
Black Canary is now too famous to work undercover
The answer comes as Black Canary and Oracle discuss the mission, which they are co-coordinating from Dinah Lance’s dojo. Dinah expresses her annoyance with running the radio rather than being out in the field. However, Oracle is quick to remind Dinah that her fame makes her a liability in a covert mission. The odds of her being recognized are apparently too great to risk it.
Ignoring that there are ways Black Canary could alter her appearance, this discussion answers the question of just how famous Dinah Lance is. Admittedly, it is a moot point, given Dinah has not worked to maintain a secret identity for some time. (Indeed, her first band’s name in her 2015 solo series was Black Canary.) In any case, Birds of Prey #14 seems to establish Dinah Lance as a superstar singer.
Birds of Prey #14 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
